[1]Alessandra Biaggi - Democrat for State Senate
Friends -
There is a lot of confusion surrounding Governor Cuomo’s nursing home
scandal, some of it deliberate, so we thought it useful to create an
easy-to-digest timeline of events for you, and then we’re going to ask you
to take action to make your voice heard on this issue.
March 1, 2020: New York has its first known and confirmed coronavirus
case.
March 25, 2020: Governor Cuomo’s administration decrees nursing homes must
accept “medically stable” COVID-positive patients, and that COVID-positive
but asymptomatic nursing home staff are allowed to keep working.
April 2, 2020: Andrew Cuomo’s state budget passes, including retroactive
liability protection for nursing home executives “arising from certain
decisions, actions and/or omissions related to the care of individuals
during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Alessandra Biaggi votes no and says, “when we look back on this time, what
we’re going to be judged by is how we protected those who are the most
vulnerable.”
April 3, 2020: Andrew Cuomo signs the state budget.
April 20, 2020:Andrew Cuomo says he wasn’t aware of his own policy
mandating that nursing homes accept COVID-positive patients. New York’s
Health Director reiterates "if you are positive, you should be admitted
back to a nursing home."
April 23, 2020:After hearing countless objections and questions about his
nursing home mandate, Andrew Cuomo says at a daily briefing that nursing
homes "don’t have a right to object. That is the rule and that is the
regulation and they have to comply with that."
May 10, 2020: Andrew Cuomo finally rescinds his nursing home order.
May 20, 2020: Andrew Cuomo blames Trump and CDC guidance for his nursing
home decision — a claim Politifact rated “mostly false” several weeks
later. It is also worth noting that Connecticut and Massachusetts chose to
send COVID-positive nursing home patients to facilities reserved for those
who tested positive.
June 6, 2020: Alessandra Biaggi introduces legislation to repeal immunity
granted by Governor Cuomo to nursing home executives.
July 24, 2020: Andrew Cuomo brags that New York has a low number of
nursing home deaths compared to other states.
October 13, 2020: Andrew Cuomo releases his book on leadership during the
pandemic. He says that criticism of the state’s policy on nursing homes is
"despicable."
November 23, 2020: Andrew Cuomo accepts an Emmy Award for his daily
briefings — says "they only offered one thing: authentic truth."
January 28, 2021:New York Attorney General Tish James releases a report
stating Governor Cuomo’s administration undercounted COVID-19 nursing home
and long-term facility deaths by up to 50%.
February 10, 2021: A top aide to Governor Cuomo admits the administration
hid the actual count of nursing home deaths from press and legislators.
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN NOW
1. The legislature must revoke the emergency powers granted to Andrew Cuomo at
the start of the COVID crisis. The legislature is a co-equal branch of
government and it’s clear the power given the governor is no longer
appropriate.
2. The legislature must repeal the immunity provisions Andrew Cuomo granted
nursing homes and other health care facilities from liability for actions
during the COVID crisis.
[ [link removed] ]Sign Alessandra Biaggi’s petition if you agree we must end immunity for
health care executives, and that it is time to take away Andrew Cuomo’s
emergency powers:
[ [link removed] ]ADD YOUR NAME
Shortly after the critical moment in the pandemic Andrew Cuomo forced
nursing homes to take in COVID-positive patients and declared that
asymptomatic staff in nursing homes could keep working, he gave nursing
home executives immunity so families could not pursue legal recourse for
negligence or malpractice if they had a loved one die.
This is a scandal. It requires hearings and accountability.
Thanks for adding your name.
- Team Biaggi
[ [link removed] ]ADD YOUR NAME
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